Diesel still dominates, when it comes to the Canadian trucking industry. But this year there was a noticeable increase in the alternative-fueled equipment competing for attention on the Truck World show floor.

Not surprisingly, much of it was electric. Electric trucks on display ranged from terminal tractors, to medium-duty trucks, up to Class 8 trucks from Volvo and Peterbilt.

Battery-electric trucks completely eliminate tailpipe emissions, and are well suited to applications where the vehicles frequently return to base for charging.

For longer-haul applications, or those slipseat applications where charging time is limited, it’s expected hydrogen fuel-cell-electric trucks will be the answer. And those, too, could be found a Truck World in the form of a Nikola Tre that was on display in the show, and also part of a ride-and-drive event that allowed drivers to get behind the wheel.

Hydrogen fuel-cell-electric trucks can be fueled in times comparable to diesel, and offer greater range than battery-electric trucks. Still, hydrogen fueling infrastructure in Canada is lacking, and will be needed to support trucks such as Nikola’s Tre.

While natural gas won’t get fleets all the way to zero emissions, it remains a popular option for fleets looking to slash their carbon footprint while also potentially reducing their fueling costs. There was plenty of buzz at the show over the new 15-liter Cummins X15N engine, which was displayed in a Kenworth chassis.

This truck from K.A.G. Canada was displayed at the show, featuring a dual-fuel system from Innovative Fuel Systems. It’s currently hauling real loads in Western Canada, with payloads of up to 140,000 lbs. The company says about 40% of the diesel normally consumed in the application is displaced with natural gas, reducing GHG emissions by about 10% and fuel costs by 10-15%.

And it wasn’t just trucks that dominated the alternative fuel spotlight. Crowds gathered around this refrigerated trailer by ITD Industries, which combines roof-mounted solar panels, an electric axle, and shorepower to potentially keep a refrigerated trailer’s cargo cold for three days without a power supply. ITD build the first-of-its-kind electric reefer trailer for Loblaw, which was eager to put it into real-world testing following the show.

ITD president Phillip Turi suggested the trailer will cost somewhere between $100,000 and $200,000 and should completely eliminate trailer refrigeration unit diesel consumption. He estimates that will yield a payback in as little as four years. ITD plans to build another of the electric reefer trailers for another Ontario retailer before rolling the system out as a retrofit kit compatible with any make refrigerated trailer and TRU.